


10 Steps To Falling In Love

by whalehuntingboyfriends



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Insecure Gavin, Romance, valentine's day fic!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 10:59:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6003295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whalehuntingboyfriends/pseuds/whalehuntingboyfriends
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael hates just about everything at university. Then he meets Gavin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	10 Steps To Falling In Love

**Author's Note:**

> There is an image involved in this story - if it doesn't display, there's a transcript of what it says at the bottom :)
> 
> (also, I'm basing this on the Australian uni system, so I'm aware that there will be inaccuracies for American colleges/universities) :'D

**1.**

The road to friendship, it turns out, begins with a mutual hatred of morning classes.

Step one is the timetable fuck up that means the compulsory lecture for MDIA3060: Digital Culture is suddenly rescheduled to 8am. On a Friday morning. _Kill me now_ , is Michael’s first thought.

Step two is the fact that he arrives at the University of Achievement City at said ungodly hour to find that their lecture takes place in the smallest, crappiest theatre on the whole campus. Half the seats are broken, there’s a very odd smell in the room, and it’s next door to where they’re renovating the SciTech library, so there’s the constant sound of construction.

Step three is the fact that the lecturer of a fucking _digital culture_ unit apparently has no idea how to work modern technology, because it takes him fifteen minutes to set up his powerpoint ( _fifteen minutes_ that Michael could have spent sleeping in. He is not amused) and when he finally does get it working, his slides are electric blue with white text on them. Dear God why.

All of these events put him in a disposition to despise anyone and everything in the world, and it is at this moment, of course, that he meets Gavin, who sweeps into the lecture late (not that it matters because their lecturer is still trying to work out how to make the powerpoint full-screen), sits down three seats away from Michael, takes a mighty sniff with his freakishly large nose, and then leans in close and hisses, “Is it just me or does it smell like cum in here?”

It’s probably hysterical tiredness that makes Michael crack up laughing. It’s just too fucking early in the morning.

“What!” the British stranger squawks indignantly next to him. “It _does_. This room smells well funny.”

“It does,” Michael manages to force out between where he’s trying not to choke on his own spit, “But not like _cum_. Jesus Christ, dude, why the fuck would you go straight to that?”

“ _Because_ ,” he protests, but before he can say anything more the lecturer nearly deafens them all by tapping on the microphone, and starts speaking at a ridiculously loud volume.

“Christ alive,” Michael sees the guy mouth, and can’t help but stifle his snickers as he watches him take in the blue slides with horror, and then encounter a piece of gum stuck to the armrest of his seat and nearly drop his laptop in his haste to relocate.

Basically the first lecture is a shitshow, but he gets some morbid amusement out of watching someone _else_ suffer through it as well, and there’s some sort of camaraderie there when their eyes meet halfway through the lecture as the poor professor starts attempting to play a youtube video.

 

* * *

 

**2.**

He learns Gavin’s name a week later.

Friday rolls around. The only bus that gets Michael here on time also gets him here fifteen minutes early, so he finds himself at the empty uni with nothing to do but wait around. He gets a terrible coffee from the only place nearby that sells it, and heads over to the lecture theatre to find the weird British guy from last time sitting outside.

He’s the only person there, and Michael recognises him immediately, because _does it smell like cum in here_ is kinda fucking hard to forget. He’s got his nose buried in the course reader, frantically highlighting.

“Forget to do the readings?” Michael calls out, and the guy jumps a mile, head snapping up to look at him. He’s a scrawny, scruffy little fellow - although to be fair, who isn’t scruffy at this hour - ensconced in a big beanie and scarf against the early morning chill.

“Yeah,” he replies, with a sheepish grin. “My tutorial is right after this.”

“I don’t bother doing the readings,” Michael informs him, with the pride of the chronically lazy. “Half the time we don’t even need them for the assignments.”

“I know, but my tutor is Gus and he asks people questions about them. He doesn’t let anyone put their hands up, he just _targets_ people. It’s bloody terrifying.”

“Oh God, I hate that,” Michael says. “I had a professor last year who would walk around during lectures and pick people and ask them shit. I’ve never seen so many people sit in the centre of the aisle so that he couldn’t reach them.”

“That sounds absolutely _horrifying_ ,” the guy replies.

At which point they introduce themselves and then continue to complain about everything possible.

“I’m so fucking annoyed that they made us buy the course reader, then put all the readings online anyway,” Michael rants. “What a waste of money.”

“ _I know, right_ ,” Gavin cries excitedly. “Also it’s a unit on digital culture but the course coordinator is like eighty years old and doesn’t know how to use the uni intranet? Why did they _pick him_.”

“Did you see his blue slides last week? My eyesight’s already shit and he’s doing his fucking best to ruin the rest of it.”

“Yes! They made me die a little inside.”

It quickly escalates into a conversation about what a rip off the food prices on campus are, how much they hate mature age students, and war stories about past group work assignments. There was a certain glee that came with meeting someone who loathes exactly the same things at you and nothing warmed Michael up faster on this freezing Friday morning than getting to yell about the things he despised to someone who agreed with everything he said.

By the time they got into the lecture they were both grinning at each other, exchanging long-suffering glances whenever something else complaint-worthy happened (and as it turned out, the one thing worse than blue sides were _green slides_ ), and eventually Gavin kept distracting Michael by nudging him and getting him to look at his laptop screen, where instead of taking notes he was composing a heartfelt and frankly hilarious diatribe about this particular unit to post on the _UAC Rants_ Facebook page.

Thus does Michael encounter Gavin Free: third year media student, brilliantly ridiculous, and the light of his fucking life in a lecture that would otherwise have put him to sleep in thirty seconds flat.

 

* * *

 

**3.**  

“What’s pissing you off this morning?” Gavin asks the next time he sees Michael, and it becomes a routine of sorts. Michael’s stupid early bus means they’re always the only two people there (Gavin lives on campus and always has to get up to frantically complete his readings, because apparently doing them earlier in the week is impossible for him). They meet before class, complain about everything else that happened to them during the week, and then sit in the lecture together and inevitably end up distracting each other.

It’s fun.

The thing is, Michael doesn’t have many friends at uni. He transferred to UAC halfway through second-year after undergoing a sudden existential crisis and changing his university course. He’s also the sort of person who watches lectures online rather than coming in to class, who has absolutely no interest in extracurricular activities and clubs, and who avoids contributing to class discussions at all costs. The bottom line is, he’s been so antisocial that he doesn’t know anyone, and the people in his cohort who he sees in all his compulsory units all already knew each other from first year, so it’s hard for him to break into established groups.

He doesn’t care.

He doesn’t care, he tells himself, except once he meets Gavin it’s… nice, having someone to look forward to meeting in the morning. To sit and whisper and laugh with in a lecture. And, once he finds out Gavin plays video games, to talk to outside of class - whether it’s chatting on Facebook or (mostly) playing Xbox together. Gavin’s bubbly and ridiculous and never short of hilarious things to say, and Michael’s falling for him before he even knows it.

 

* * *

 

**4.**

“Someone’s watching cat videos down there,” Gavin whispers, leaning in close, one of his hands resting on Michael’s arm.

Michael follows his gaze, peering at someone sitting in the rows below them. They are, indeed, watching cat videos. He can hardly blame them; the lecturer’s put on another video, a very long, boring documentary of some sort, entirely lacking in usefulness to the unit.

“Awww, oh my God, Michael, it’s so _cute_. It’s _grooming the baby_. I want to find that video.”

Michael glances over at him and can’t help his fond smile, even as he scoffs. Gavin’s eyes are huge and shining and he’s practically cooing. It’s cute. Michael’s gotten too used to him, probably, this skinny big-nosed idiot with his stupid accent who gets excited over the strangest things.

They emerge from the lecture and Michael walks with Gavin towards his tutorial room, the way he’s gotten into the habit of doing. It’s still stupid early; most other people only get here at nine and Michael has a two-hour break before his next class. He usually spends it sitting on his own. He never used to mind it, but now he wishes he was in Gavin’s tute, even if he’d have to put up with Gus asking him questions about the readings.

Gavin’s still gushing over the cat video.

“I love them, Michael. I miss my cat back in England so much. Little Lloyd. She was so squishy.”

“I’m not a big fan of cats, actually,” Michael admits, and Gavin stops short and gives him a look of such affront that Michael has to laugh.

“We can no longer be friends,” Gavin informs him, so solemnly that Michael stops laughing - but a second later, Gavin breaks down giggling.

“Your _face_. Did you really believe me?”

“Prick,” Michael snaps, embarrassed by the way his stomach had dropped, just for a second. He reaches out and pulls Gavin’s beanie over his eyes, making him squawk, only to have to grab his arm a moment later and yank him out of the way of someone exiting the library.

“Did you just save my life Michael?” Gavin demands, pushing his beanie back up. “Was I about to walk into traffic?”

“I just saved you an ass-whooping because you were about to walk into a law student,” Michael replies. He’s still holding onto Gavin’s arm, the other man pressed so close to him that he can feel his chest heave as he laughs.

“Law students are scary,” Gavin says.

“ _Everything’s_ scary to you! You were fucking scared of emailing the coordinator to ask for an extension! You made _me_ go to hand in your assignment because you were scared of the guy at the reception desk!”

“He had evil eyes, okay?” Gavin protests, but he’s grinning and he reaches out and inexplicably bops Michael in the middle of the chest. “And I was joking, Michael. We can still be friends. I’ll turn you around on the cat thing once I show you some videos of Lloyd.”

“Who says I want to be friends,” Michael replies, just on principle, but Gavin can tell he’s teasing and he just laughs and continues walking, already babbling about the cat again. Michael shakes his head but follows, still beaming, bemused by just how much more he’s learning about Gavin now. What he used to do in England. What all his weird British words mean. What makes him laugh so hard he just starts squeaking and gasping.

The things he likes, not just the things they both dislike.

 

* * *

 

**5.**

“Everything okay?” Gavin asks, carefully.

Michael glances at him. They’re just walking out of the lecture and Gavin’s watching him all soft and concerned like. He bites his lip, unsure what to say.

It’s been a shit week. Things just built up - he got an assignment back that he’d put more effort than usual into, only to barely pass it. He had three other things due and was pulling all-nighters to finish them, and then his computer crashed on the last one and he had to redo it. To top it off, his asshole boss at work was causing him more grief than usual.

Nothing big or dramatic, just lots of little issues that built up into him being so fucking exhausted this Friday morning that he’s feeling _upset_ rather than angry for once. He’s probably been quieter than normal and it seems Gavin’s caught onto it - and the thing is, normally with him Michael would be ranting about everything that happened, but this feels too personal, too much like opening up, and even if they’re friends he isn’t quite sure if they’re _close_ enough for that yet.

But Gavin’s stopped walking, now, pulling Michael to the side of the footpath and keeping his hand on his arm after.

“I’m okay,” Michael assures him, except it comes out so strained that Gavin raises an eyebrow and Michael can only scoff out a laugh, reaching up to scrub his hands over his face. “Just a shitty week.”

Gavin looks confused.

“You could’ve told me about it,” he says. “That always makes us feel better, doesn’t it? The Hate Game.”

“Don’t call it the Hate Game,” Michael replies, unable to help barking out a laugh. “That makes it sound like we’re the evil version of Pollyanna.”

“What happened? Is everything alright?” Gavin insists.

“Just stupid little things. I’m fine, really.”

“If you want to talk about it…” Gavin trails off, awkward now, like he’s the one wondering if he’s gotten too close, if he’s prying where Michael doesn’t want him to-

But Michael does want him to, that’s kind of the problem. He just doesn’t like looking weak in front of people he doesn’t know all that well.

But he _does_ know Gavin, he thinks, and after a moment he nods.

“Sure. I’ll tell you about it over Halo tonight-”

“What, not now?” Gavin asks. “If you’re sad now we should talk now. I’ll buy you a coffee and we can sit down somewhere-”

“You’ll miss your tutorial,” Michael points out, and Gavin flaps a hand.

“Fuck the tutorial,” he declares, and he swears so rarely that the sheer absurdity of hearing him say it makes Michael laugh again. “We’re allowed to miss two and it’s possible that I didn’t do my readings this week.”

“You wanna use up one of your absences on this?” Michael asks, but Gavin’s already nodding vigorously.

“Of _course_ , Michael. Gotta be there for my boi, right? Now come on.”

He seizes Michael by the arm and starts dragging him off towards one of the better food courts on campus. Michael can only make a vague noise of protest, but he doesn’t mean it; he’s grinning now and Gavin hasn’t let go of him and suddenly Michael doesn’t _want_ him to. It’s lonelier than he’d like to admit, being here in AC away from his family, not really knowing anyone around except for acquaintances at work and a few people in his classes, and maybe it should be pathetic that Gavin who he only sees in-person once a week and otherwise just talks with online is the one person who noticed that he was feeling down-

But it only heightens his affection for the other man, and he doesn’t pull his arm away.

They sit down and get coffee and he rants for twenty minutes. Gavin’s a good listener; attentive, never bored, sympathetic without being pitying, only butting in now and again to declare “that sucks” or “your boss sounds like a right wanker.”

It’s easy to talk to him. Easier than it maybe should be, and he has Michael in fits afterwards with a dramatic telling of his own disastrous assignment in some first-year project, and he’s making Michael feel so much better that it fills him with a swelling fondness. And they already talk online basically every night, already text and snapchat between classes, that the realisation hits Michael now: they’re a lot closer than he quite realised.

But it’s still not enough.

He knows Gavin has his own group of friends here, that he’s mentioned going out on dates (although not said anything about with _who_ ), that he has a whole other life outside of playing Xbox with Michael and meeting him in this lecture.

Suddenly, he wants to be part of that too, he wants to see Gavin more than he already does, to be even better friends-

But that’s not something you can just admit to someone, can just _ask_ for, so he keeps his mouth shut and smiles back at Gavin and tries to be happy with just what he has, for now at least.

 

* * *

 

**6.**

“Shit dude, whose wedding are you going to?” Michael demands, when he arrives to find Gavin sitting outside the class looking so much more done up than usual that from a distance Michael hadn’t recognised him.

Gavin glances up - doing his last minute readings, as usual - and gives a flustered little grin, face flushing as he scrambles to his feet.

Their class is so early that whenever Michael sees him, he’s sloppily dressed, usually just in a hoodie and old jeans, unshaven and with his hair shoved under a beanie. But today it’s like he’s the ‘after’ picture of a makeover; he’s got nicer skinny jeans on, a fancy sweater over a collared shirt, and his hair’s all gelled up. He looks different clean-shaven; younger, the green of his eyes popping more against his grey jumper.

He looks good.

Really good, good in a way that makes Michael notice perhaps for the first time that he’s a really attractive guy. Everyone in this class always looks half-asleep and it’d been hard to see past that. But Gavin scrubs up well and it’s hard not to stare.

“No wedding,” Gavin says, and tugs at the collar of his shirt self-consciously. “Going out to lunch after my tutorial today.”

“A date?” Michael asks, eyebrow raised, and Gavin nods.

“Yeah, actually.”

“Who is this mysterious partner of yours, then?” Michael asks. It’s never been a secret that Gavin’s with someone - he’s mentioned going out on dates before, buying flowers, received texts that made him smile and blush - but what _is_ secret is _who_. Gavin’s never told him a thing about them - their name, what they do, even their gender. It’s that last which is suspicious, a pointed lack of specific pronouns that has always made Michael wonder. “Same person as always?”

“Yeah,” Gavin says, and bites his lip, looking away for a moment. He seems to be steeling himself, and when he finally speaks it’s rushed, almost nervous. “Um. His name’s Ed. He’s an engineering student over at UTech - software and programming and stuff - but he’s on internship at the moment in the city.”

He’s all tense now, seeming to brace himself for an explosive reaction from Michael, who can’t help but smile at him reassuringly. Suspicions confirmed, then, Gavin’s into dudes. Michael can’t blame him for being careful; he’s gone through the same thing himself. That constant process of coming out to new people you meet, especially ones you’ve gotten close to - he’s never given a fuck about it, has always been loud and proud, except the topic’s never quite come up with Gavin, and it’s no wonder the other man might’ve been nervous about it. They haven’t discussed it before, and Michael knows from experience that even the friendliest seeming people can harbour bigoted and backward opinions, and you never know until the subject comes up. Gavin’s shyer than him and more self-conscious. It’s no surprise that he’s more careful.

“Hey,” Michael says now, and reaches out, squeezing his arm. “Nice to finally know your boyfriend’s name. Software engineering, huh? He must be pretty smart.”

Gavin’s face relaxes in relief, his smile wider and more sincere now.

“He is!” he replies eagerly. “We’ve been dating like, eight months now? I like him a lot.”

“UTech huh? I went on a couple of dates with a guy from there too, last year. Met him at a party. We didn’t really hit it off though. Apparently education students don’t like homeschoolers."

Gavin grins even wider.

“You’re… oh. Okay. That’s… that’s good,” he says, and Michael can’t even bring himself to tease him, just grins back and squeezes his arm again before letting his hand drop.

_It is good,_ he can’t help but think, and sort of hates himself a little for how _pleased_ he is that Gavin’s not straight. A bit too pleased. A bit too _hopeful_ , perhaps, and he could kick himself because _he has a boyfriend, and don’t you fucking dare be disappointed if the guy’s making him happy. Christ._

It’s just - it’s not every day he meets he likes so _much_ , someone he gets along with to the point where he’s never sick of them. To find out that if he _wasn’t_ with someone else, Gavin might potentially be attracted to him too - he can’t help but be pleased.

“Anyway,” Gavin says then, except there’s something a lot more excited in his voice and he hasn’t stopped grinning, and maybe he’s pleased about it too- “How do I look?”

_Adorable_ , Michael can only think, because he’s striking a funny little pose bouncing up on the soles of his feet and still beaming, face flushed prettily from the cold and the conversation they just had, and how the _hell_ did he never notice before how attractive Gavin was?

“Good,” he says, and shoots him a thumbs up. “Really good. Lucky Ed.”

Gavin laughs again, squeaky and flustered. More people are showing up outside the lecture theatre now, as it gets near 8 o’clock, and Gavin quickly sits down again and starts doing his readings again. Michael sits next to him and presses their shoulders together; their eyes meet as Gavin glances up at him and gives a small smile before turning back to his work. Michael keeps looking at him, unable to drag his gaze away, noticing all the things that he’d seen before, but never really paid attention to. The little creases under Gavin’s eyes, the line of his jaw, how tan he is even now in the winter.

_Lucky Ed indeed_.

 

* * *

 

**7.**

Gavin and Ed break up two weeks later.

Michael knows something is wrong when Gavin doesn’t show up for class. They spoke on Facebook yesterday afternoon and Gavin made no mention of anything being wrong - they take attendance at this lecture and it’s compulsory to come, so for Gavin not to be there at all without giving Michael any warning is odd.

He feels a bit pathetic standing alone outside the room for fifteen minutes, glancing up hopefully whenever someone approaches - and even more when he can’t stop looking at the door in the lecture, waiting for Gavin to come in late. Eventually he texts him - _you okay?_ \- maybe he’s just taking a sick day or something.

It takes Gavin over three hours to reply, and Michael gets embarrassingly worried considering it’s very possible Gavin just missed his alarm and is sleeping in. He keeps running awful scenarios over in his head. _Sick? What if he’s got in an accident somehow? Or was mugged and someone stole his phone?_

He’s in a workshop when his phone finally buzzes with a text, and he immediately abandons the coding he’s meant to be doing to snatch it up.

‘ _Sorry this is so late. I’m fine, thanks boi.’_

Well! That’s not very informative.

‘ _Where were you this morning?’_ he sends back, and doesn’t get a reply for another twenty minutes before Gavin finally sends back:

‘ _Didn’t feel up to coming in :(‘_

It’s still so vague that Michael has no idea what’s going on, except something’s obviously up and his worry only intensifies.

‘ _Is everything okay?’_

_‘Gav?’_

_‘Did something happen?’_

And then, when he still gets no reply:

‘ _You live on campus right? Want me to come over?’_

He hates how uneasy he feels, like he’s still worried he’s pushed too far and upset or annoyed Gavin. But his phone buzzes again soon after the last message, with Gavin’s dorm address and a link to a map of the uni residences.

Michael packs up his stuff and leaves class half an hour early, heading to Gavin’s immediately. He’s so concerned by this point that he practically runs there, at least until he gets out of breath (UAC is a big campus, who can blame him).

Even if he’s known Gavin a good few months by now and they talk online every day, it’s still way too soon for them to be inviting each other over, considering they only see each other in person a couple times a week at most. But he’s more concerned than curious as he follows Gavin’s texted directions before he ends up at what he hopes is the correct room.

Gavin answers the door almost as soon as he knocks, and Michael pauses, one fist still raised in the air. Gavin looks a mess, hair scruffy and unkempt like he was tossing and turning in bed, red-rimmed eyes and barely dressed, pyjama pants hanging low on his hips and an unzipped hoodie draped over his shoulders.

“Shit dude,” is all Michael can say. “Are you… are you okay?”

“Not really,” Gavin says - his voice is hoarse, like he’s just woken up (or worse, like he’s been crying, but Michael doesn’t want to think about that) - he steps out of the way, ushering Michael into the room.

Gavin’s half of the room is remarkably neater than Michael’d expected, DVDs and books stacked neatly on the shelf, no clothes on the floor, desk tidy. There’s a plasma globe by the side of the bed, which is the messiest thing on Gavin’s side of the room, the sheets rumpled and thrown back like he was lying in it before Michael arrived.

His room mate is far messier, but there’s a dividing line of cleanliness between the two halves as though Gavin just kicks anything that crosses it back over, leading to a pile-up of dirty laundry and half-finished packets of chips against the other resident’s bed. Whoever they are, they’re not here at the moment.

Gavin wanders immediately back over to the bed, throws himself on it face down, and lets out an alarming groan.

“Either you’re sick or you’re sad,” Michael says a bit awkwardly, moving up to stand next to him. “Either way I’m worried about you. What’s up?”

“It’s sweet of you to worry, lovely Michael,” Gavin says, face so muffled into his pillow that Michael can’t make out his tone. “It’s stupid really.”

“It’s not stupid if you’re upset.”

“I just broke up with Ed is all.” His voice is deliberately light as he rolls onto his back and gazes up at the ceiling. The way his hoodie falls open at the movement exposes too much of his chest, but Michael can’t even be distracted, his gaze trained on Gavin’s face, the careful blankness of his mien. “Felt too shitty about it to come to class.”

“Oh shit, dude. I’m sorry.”

“I say ‘broke up,’” Gavin continued, “More like I got dumped.”

Michael sees red, a hot fury already rising up in his chest at the thought that anyone could hurt Gavin, could make Gavin look as wrecked as this, could _have_ Gavin and then just throw him aside - but he bites his tongue, because Gavin’s still gazing up at the ceiling and obviously isn’t finished yet. After a moment Michael sits on the bed next to him and Gavin glances over at him and gives a small smile.

“It didn’t come out of nowhere. He’s been more distant since he started his internship. Seemed not to like spending time with me as much. I was trying to fix it by organising more dates so we could hang out more since he was so busy with work all the time… guess I just started annoying him.”

“You’re not annoying,” Michael begins, but Gavin isn’t listening.

“To his credit, it was the most organised break up I’ve ever seen. He came, like, fully prepared with a list of reasons why he didn’t want to be together any more.”

“Jesus Christ,” Michael hisses, and Gavin lets out a humourless laugh.

“Wanna hear some of it? I have it committed to memory.”

“Gav…”

“No, seriously, tell me if you agree with any of it.” He started counting on his fingers, each one ratcheting the pain in Michael’s chest up a notch. “Apparently I’m too clingy. Always pestering him, needing too much attention, can’t tell when a guy just needs some space. Apparently we don’t have enough in common - he’s not really into the same kind of games or movies as me. Also he _hates cats_ , that should’ve been a warning sign, right? - but he reckons that lately we’re just totally not on the same page. Apparently I don’t take enough of an interest in the stuff that _he_ likes. And I’m not good at holding a conversation with him - don’t ask the right questions about what’s going on in his life. Also, he says I don’t put enough effort into my personal appearance when we’re together, which I assume is his polite way of saying I’m ugly.”

“Not very fucking polite!” Michael exclaims, unable to believe it - “Fucking hell, Gav, this guy sounds like a total asshole!”

“I mean, I was a bit surprised he was so _brutal_ about it,” Gavin agrees. “But he said it all so matter of factly that I was just like, _Christ, I guess he has a point_. Decent of him to give me some pointers for the next person I end up with, I suppose? It’s like, shit to improve on. Like getting feedback at the end of an assignment.”

“I can’t fucking believe this - you don’t need to improve on _any_ of that. It was a fucking _relationship_ , not a test that you pass or fail. What the actual _fuck_.” He’s practically spitting in rage now. “You know he’s an asshole, right, Gavin? Don’t listen to a fucking thing he says.”

Gavin just shrugs, and Michael scowls. He reaches out and grabs him by the shoulder, dragging him upright and turning him to face him.

“I mean it, Gav, you don’t just _say_ that shit to someone - especially someone you love, or used to, or who you know loves _you_. He’s a complete wanker. Also, what’s his last name?”

“Why?” Gavin demands, taken aback. “You gonna track him down and beat him up?”

“Maybe.”

“Michael, _no_ ,” Gavin says, but not very convincingly. “You’ll get in trouble.”

“I want you to text him a list of all the shit you hate about _him_. That’ll show the bastard.”

“That would be very mean,” Gavin says, but his lips twitch a little and after a moment he sighs. “I won’t sink to his level. It’s nice of you, boi, but I actually am alright. Like I said - I saw the breakup coming, I just didn’t think he’d be so rude about it. That is pretty rude, don’t you think?”

“That’s fucking _unacceptable_ is what it is. And I mean it - don’t get it into your head that any of that’s true, alright?” Michael stares at him in concern, and Gavin’s shrug isn’t very convincing.

And the thing is, it’s all well and good for him to tell Gavin that it’s not true, to ignore it, but it doesn’t _work_ like that - someone saying those things to you, it _hurts_ , and it affects you, and you can’t just forget about or ignore it. And the thought of anyone making Gavin feel like that, putting even more self doubt into his head, is infuriating.

And there’s so much he wants to say - _don’t listen to any of it, you’re perfect, I’d give anything for you to be clingy over me, you’re not ugly at all, you’re funny and clever and the best person I’ve ever met and anyone who doesn’t want to spend time with you is missing the fuck out_ \- but he can’t say it, can’t pour out everything he’s feeling without giving away that lately he’s started getting too close, that he means it a bit _too_ much, without it getting _weird._

“You’re too good for him,” he settles on, and then when Gavin gives him a disbelieving laugh, “I mean it, and it’s lucky you got out of there because he sounds like a total dick. You’re better off without him and if we started listing out reasons why _you_ shoulda broken up with him, I’m sure ours would be twice as long. What a fuckwad.”

“Right,” Gavin replies, and then with a scoff of a laugh, “We’re good at making hate lists.”

Michael doesn’t know what else he can say to get through to him. In the end he just holds out his arms and Gavin gives him a small smile before hugging him, nestling his head into Michael’s shoulder and winding his arms around his waist. Michael squeezes him tightly back; it’s the most physical contact they’ve had since meeting each other and he tries not to think about how perfectly Gavin fits into his arms.

He ends up staying the whole day at Gavin’s place. They hang out for a while just watching netflix, Gavin curled in against his side, Michael’s arm dropping comfortably down over his shoulders. Then they play some Xbox, then just sit and chat, avoiding conversation about Ed completely. Gavin shows Michael some clips he’s been working on for an assignment. They’re good.

It’s getting towards night and they’ve just ordered pizza - Gavin’s roommate will be out late, thank God, but he still has to get a move on before the guy comes back - when Gavin brings it up.

“I wanted to ask you something actually,” he says slowly.

There’s something uncertain in it that makes Michael stiffen, lowering his controller, something nervous and _excited_ building up in his stomach.

“Yeah?”

“Feel free to say no if you want. No pressure or anything, seriously.”

“Okay… bring it on.” He has no idea where this is going - where he _wants_ this to go - but Gavin’s been smiling more as the day went on and Michael’s getting a weird vibe like, despite how awfully it went on, he’s almost _relieved_ to have broken up with his boyfriend. Fair enough if the guy had been acting colder lately, but still, it’s a shitty situation all around and it’d be stupid to think that it meant Gavin would be making a move on anyone else any time soon. Not that Michael _wants_ him to make a move on him. Or at least, he isn’t _sure_ he does.

As it is, it’s nothing quite in that vein.

“I have this big project for the end of the year for media. Short film sort of deal. I need someone to act in it and you mentioned you liked voice acting one time so I was kinda wondering if you’d like to be in it? It’s a group thing but they’re all good friends of mine. They’d like to meet you actually.”

Gavin says it in a rush, like he’s worried Michael will say no. As it is, Michael blinks a few times - it’s not what he was expecting, then again he doesn’t know what he was expecting.

And the answer comes to him without thinking. He’s never met Gavin’s friends but he wants, so badly _wants_ to get to know him better, to be a part of his life outside that single unit they both share and gaming with him online. And the thought of getting to hang out with him outside of class while working on a project together is almost too good to be true.

“Sure, I’d love to.”

“Really?” Gavin perks up, beaming, and Michael laughs and nods.

“‘course dude. Be a hell of a lot more interesting than _my_ assignments. Besides, I gotta see what your friends are like, if they’re half as strange as you are.”

Gavin laughs, delighted, and starts excitedly telling Michael more about this project. Michael watches him with a fond smile, just glad to see him happy again, and there’s something so captivating against Gavin’s face lit up and animated that he could break Ed’s fucking nose for throwing this away so easily, for tearing down Gavin’s self esteem alongside their relationship, for not seeing how fucking much there is to _love_ about this boy.

 

* * *

 

**8.**

Michael’s more nervous than he’d like to admit about meeting Gavin’s group.

As it turns out, they’re great. He fits in like he’s always been there - they have the same caustic humour as Michael, and a lot of the same interests, and they’re basically the group of people that he’s been waiting, _hoping_ to meet at uni.

Lindsay, Miles and Barbara are all part of Gavin’s group for his project. Geoff is a couple of years above them, adding honours to his journalism degree, but he constantly hangs around watching them film, drinking and offering unhelpful advice, and Ryan’s a friend of Lindsay’s who does theatre and has also been roped into acting in what turns out to be a very stupid short film involving aliens.

They’re all hysterical. He can see why Gavin likes them, and he can also see how fond all of _them_ are of him - especially Geoff and his extended group of friends who they also hang out with now and then.

It all means that Michael starts spending more time with Gavin and all the others outside of filming the project - meeting for drinks at the uni bar, catching movies together or going to laser tag. Gaming sessions at Geoff’s flat.

For the first time in a long time, he feels like he fits in here in this city, like he’s finally found his niche.

And he loves them all, but Gavin’s still the first.

It’s funny seeing him in action. You don’t get much of an idea of someone’s work ethic just from sitting in a lecture with them. Michael always knew Gavin was cleverer than some of his ridiculous questions would lead you to believe, but watching him work on this project is something else - he’s sharp, creative, a genius with a camera. There’s nothing outwardly impressive about watching someone write an essay, no matter how good they are at it, but out here doing practical work it becomes obvious that Gavin’s in his element.

Sometimes Michael can’t stop looking at him. The little furrow of his brow when he’s puzzling out a problem in production, the intense, focused look he gets when he’s blocking a scene - not to mention seeing him around his other friends; laughing with them, being relentlessly teased, chattering away so fast that Michael can keep up with him-

And the more he sees of Gavin, the harder to gets to deny that he wants to be closer to him.

Maybe he’s been lonelier than he wanted to admit.

Since moving to AC he’s been too focused on himself, on being cynical and grumpy about everything at uni, on grinding through life and mostly only enjoying video games and Reddit, the one thing he looks forward to being going home for the holidays.

But then Gavin came along.

Gavin like a ray of sunshine, Gavin who didn’t find Michael’s anger off-putting but just laughed along with it, Gavin who made him laugh so much too-

Gavin who’s the reason Michael’s finding more and more things to be happy about again. Xbox matches with people he actually knows in person, Facebook conversations that have him in fits of laughter, ridiculous snapchats he almost wants to put off opening just to savour them-

And now, with this group of friends, there’s so much more. Parties to go to, drinks and outings and games and _people_ he’s close to, people he _likes_. Because he’s hit it off with all of them, and Geoff likes Always Sunny and Miles likes anime and Lindsay and Barbara are both a blast to go out and get bevved with-

And through it all there’s Gavin, who he’s always drawn to like a moth to a flame no matter who else is around. Gavin who he’s become too acutely aware of. When the other man is looking at him, or talking to him, or God forbid _touching_ him, he can’t help the way his heart quickens. Can’t ignore how he can’t stop grinning when he’s around, how he’s too conscious of everything _he_ says and does around the other man now.

He loves him so much he can barely fucking stand it.

 

* * *

 

**9.**

The night Michael starts to think that Gavin might like him back too, they’re out for bevs. The whole evening reminds him of the first time they properly met.

They’ve finally finished and handed in the movie project, and everyone involved has gone out to celebrate. The bar at uni is good - Michael never went there before he met this group, but it’s one of the few places at UAC that he really likes, and convenient for those of them who live on-campus.

They had drinks with the others, but after a while he and Gavin peeled off from the rest and went to sit outside.

And here they are now, on a bench together with beers in hand. It’s a briskly cool evening and Gavin’s got his usual beanie on, unshaven and dishevelled from pulling all nighters to finish this project off. Just the way he was all those mornings when they first met.

Michael adores him even like this, even when he’s not scrubbed up and putting an effort in. There’s something soft and wonderful about him, and he’s warm where he’s pressed up against Michael’s shoulder, head resting practically on the other’s chest. Michael can’t quite remember how they got like this. It’s a bit of a daze.

They’re playing the Hate Game (the name stuck, even if he didn’t want it to).

He isn’t sure how that started either, except maybe they were reminiscing, maybe they were laughing about how they met, and how far they’ve come, and it’s nice that he actually _has_ someone to reminisce with.

It’s some weird version of the game Gavin’s come up with where you say a letter of the alphabet and the other person has to rant about something starting with it. Maybe it’s childish, but alone out here in the dark courtyard, the empty uni, it feels like _them_.

“ _C_ ,” he says, and Gavin burrows in closer to him as a chilly gust of wind sweeps through the courtyard.

“Collaborative learning,” he declares, making Michael laugh. “I mean, in media you gotta learn to work with other people, but still. Don’t give us a bloody research project worth fifty percent of our unit mark and have it be a _partner project_. Especially with a shared mark, like, what the hell? It’s not fair to people who get stuck with shitty partners.”

“You know my feelings on group work,” Michael replies, snickering. “I agree.”

“ _Y,”_ Gavin says then.

“Your ex-boyfriend,” Michael declares immediately, without really thinking about it. Gavin stiffens, then twists to look up at him.

Michael stares back at him. He doesn’t regret saying it, even if it was impulsive. Because even if he never met the guy, he still thinks about Ed now and then, and it’s obvious Gavin does too.

There are times when he’ll go quiet if someone offhandedly says he’s been annoying. An increased self-consciousness about everything he does, and if he sees anything to do with UTech let alone Ed specifically, he gets a little hurt look on his face that breaks Michael’s heart.

Breaks it because _he_ likes Gavin, _loves_ Gavin, can’t stand to see him hurt, only wants him to be _happy_. But it’s obvious he’s still hurting even if it’s been almost two months by now.

Two months in which sometimes Michael would draw him into talking about it, even just a little bit. Would listen and offer support if Gavin needed.

“He never did anything to _you_ , Michael,” Gavin says slowly.

“He hurt you,” Michael replies firmly. “That matters to me.”

“Oh,” Gavin says. Something pitifully surprised in it.

“Of course it fucking does,” Michael adds, fiercely. “You know that, right?”

“Yeah,” Gavin murmurs, and gives a little, slow smile. He hides it quickly, seeming embarrassed as he quickly takes a swig from his beer to avoid looking at Michael. When he lowers the bottle he starts laughing.

“What a bloody game this is. We should probably be more positive, shouldn’t we?” he asks, and Michael can’t help but laugh too.

“Nah.”

“No, really,” Gavin insists. “I complain a lot but I’m really happy with where I am. We should be playing the Love Game, not the Hate Game. There are lots of things I love right now. It’s fun to rant, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not unhappy.” And then, after a quiet pause, he looks up and asks, “Are you, Michael?”

Michael hesitates.

He might’ve said _yes_ , once. Weeks ago, before Digital Culture and Gavin and _this_ , here and now - a boy he loves curled up against his side, looking at him with his big green eyes all shining in the soft light from the bar nearby.

“I’m not unhappy either,” he hears himself say, and Gavin’s smile is dazzling.

“Good! I’m really glad we met.”

“You have other friends,” Michael replies slowly, but Gavin shakes his head.

“But none like _you_. I like you a lot, Michael, you’re my boi. I…”

He trails off, a flustered sort of look on his face. It’s a look Michael’s seen before, when Gavin wants to say something but is too embarrassed or scared to. He can’t help but wonder what Gavin was about to admit.

His own heart is pounding now. Does this mean what he think it does - that Gavin could possibly like him too? He hasn’t wanted to push lately, to make a move or make it too obvious, conscious that Gavin might not be looking to get together with someone after how things ended with Ed. Even if Gavin smiles at him a lot too, even if he’s caught him gazing at him, even if they’re so close that the others in the group joke about it…

Gavin’s withdrawn now, embarrassed. The moment’s passed.

But it’s enough, enough for Michael to let himself _hope_.

“Hey,” he says reassuringly - he reaches out, meaning to squeeze Gavin’s shoulder, but ends up touching his cheek instead, lightly. Gavin startles, but then gives one of his sweet smiles. He looks good in this light, his cheeks flushed and his lips parted and _God_ , Michael could kiss him right now.

But he doesn’t.

He’s still just a little too cautious, doesn’t want to make such a blatant move. Not tonight when they’ve both been drinking.

“I’m really, really fucking glad we met too,” he says instead. “It’s totally worth that shitty lecture theatre and the blue slides of horror just to have met you.”

“Awww, Michael,” Gavin coos. “That’s well sappy.”

“Why’d you have to ruin it?” Michael demands, a bit embarrassed now. Gavin just laughs and takes another swig of his beer, only for it to foam up and spill all over both of them. They spring apart, Michael letting out a yell, Gavin squawking and giggling, and any awkwardness that might have built up disappears immediately, and-

_Next time_ , Michael thinks, even through his laughter. He feels all warm from shouting but Gavin’s just squeaking at him, unfazed by his faux-anger because he _gets it_ , he gets Michael so much and knows when not to take him seriously. _The next chance that comes up, I take it._

 

* * *

 

**10.**

Valentine’s Day is coming up.

Lindsay keeps secretly telling them all about her plans for Barbara, and Barbara keeps secretly telling them about all her plans for Lindsay, and Miles has a crush on some other media student called Kerry and is working himself into a fit trying to decide if he wants to make a move on him or not. Geoff, who had never met Ryan before in his life until he decided to lurk around and watch them film the media project, has abruptly, devastatingly fallen for him. He keeps trying to wrangle out of the others whether Ryan’s interested in him, and if sending him an anonymous card would be weird, but none of them know Ryan well enough to tell except Lindsay, who for reasons unknown Geoff is too afraid to ask.

So there is a lot of love flying around in their group. It’s sickening.

And then, of course, there is Michael, Michael who knows exactly who he wants to ask out, just doesn’t know _when_ or if he _should_ or what the hell _Gavin’s_ thinking about all this.

Gavin, as it is, is remarkably quiet when it comes to all this drama. If anything he seems withdrawn and it has Michael worried, but he finds out the cause quite by accident when he surprises Gavin in the library between classes (it’s not pathetic if he has Gavin’s timetable memorised, okay, he needed to so they could work out when they could meet to film) and the other man slams his laptop shut so quickly that it’s obvious he’s hiding something.

“Looking at porn, Gav?” Michael asks immediately.

“No,” Gavin replies, flustered. “Of course not, _Christ_ Michael.”

“Nothing wrong with that, dude. Just, in the _library_? Really?”

“I’m not looking at porn.”

“Sure you aren’t. You look so fucking shifty right now.”

“I’ll prove it,” Gavin says, with the determination of those who have not thought things through, and flashes open his laptop, turning it towards Michael for just a second - long enough for him to see he was on Facebook. What he doesn’t account for is how fast Michael can be when he wants something, and he reaches out and grabs the screen before Gavin can turn it away again.

He regrets it a second later. It’s Ed’s profile up on the screen.

“Shit,” he breathes - Gavin turns his face away and Michael lets go of the computer to touch his shoulder instead. “Hey, I’m sorry, I wouldn’t’ve pried if I knew.”

“It’s okay,” Gavin says quietly.

“Although,” Michael continues, “What the fuck, dude, are you Facebook stalking your ex?”

“Look,” Gavin begins defensively.

“Don’t do that shit. It’s no good to anyone.”

“I know,” Gavin says miserably. “I couldn’t help it! All the others keep banging on about Valentine’s Day and here I am thinking that we didn’t even get to one year together. I hate that I miss him still. I just wanted to see if he really did move on that fast. But it doesn’t look like he’s with anyone, or at least no one that he’s committed to enough to put it on Facebook.”

“That’s not a measure of commitment.”

“I know,” Gavin says, and sighs, reaching up to rub his face. “But this was the one year I actually had Valentine’s plans for. Every other year I’ve been single.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Michael says. “I’ve been single most Valentine’s Days too. It’s all a load of crap, anyway. Just an excuse for shops to sell more pink cards.”

“I know. Just - it was nice thinking I’d have someone this year to actually buy all those shitty cards for. Y’know? Or get one from.” He gives a huff of a laugh. “I know Barb’s planning to pity-send me one. I heard her telling Miles about it. I just hope she doesn’t try and send it anonymously because that’s even more pathetic. I’d have to pretend to believe it’s actually from some secret admirer, which is even worse! Who would have a crush on me?”

“Plenty of people, to be honest,” Michael mutters.

“Come off it,” Gavin scoffs.

“I’m not joking,” Michael insists. “Do you realise you’re the hot British international student? I bet everyone in your tutes is secretly wild about you.”

Gavin’s cheeks go red.

“I’m _not_ ,” he splutters. “Don’t be _silly_.”

“I’m not,” Michael says, and stares sincerely at him. “I know I can’t make you believe it. But there’s plenty to love about you.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not what Ed seemed to think,” Gavin says, and sighs again. “That’d be nicer, though, don’t you think? If you were gonna break up with someone you could at least tell them all the things you _did_ like about them, even if it wasn’t quite working out. Or maybe that’d just hurt more - I don’t know. I guess maybe he just couldn’t think of anything nice to say.”

“I can think of plenty nice to say,” Michael says fiercely, and Gavin’s lips twitch.

“You’re sweet, boi,” he says.

“I mean it,” Michael insists, and then grins. He’s teasing, but means the words too much as he adds, “Expect a card from me, too. Not a pity one either.”

“Don’t tease like that,” Gavin snaps, but he’s blushing too and looking away like he’s trying not to give his expression away. And there’s something almost hopeful in his voice, despite his protests.

And that’s it.

That’s all Michael needs to think that he has a chance at this. And he needs to tell Gavin suddenly - admit his feelings, how much he means to him, what he _wants_ -

And some part of him is still terrified about fucking up this friendship and the one good thing he has here-

But he can’t keep it in anymore. Not now that he has a chance, and what seems like a strong one.

Not when he thinks, now, that Gavin needs to know exactly how much someone loves him.

 

* * *

 

**Valentine’s Day.**

“How the hell did you get this into my hoodie pocket?” Gavin demands, between squeaks of laughter. “How long has it _been_ there?”

“Since we went out to brunch this morning,” Michael replies, grinning.

Gavin laughs again, sounding delighted but also oddly nervous as he turns the envelope over in his hands.

“You bloody reverse pickpocketed me like in Skyrim!”

“Hey, I played a thief. Best way to do the game; stealth archer.”

“I prefer a mage,” Gavin murmurs, but he’s preoccupied by the envelope now, picking at the bit where it’s stuck closed.

It’s probably already weird to some people that they went out together on Valentine’s Day. It’s a Sunday, so there’s no uni, and everyone else in their group is already out in pairs. Michael asked Gavin to meet him for brunch, then come back to his place for video games. It’s not a date, but it felt too much like one when they were surrounded by couples who _were_ together.

Gavin hadn’t commented. But he also hadn’t stopped smiling the whole time, and Michael couldn’t help but wonder if he was feeling the same thing - because for him, it had been pretty great being out with someone he actually did love on this day, even if the other person didn’t know it yet.

Well, he’ll know it soon. Michael feels sick with nerves already - but excitement, too, his heart pounding as he watches Gavin. He hasn’t really considered how wrong this could go - _it won’t,_ he tells himself. _Come on. It won’t._

“You really got me a card,” Gavin murmurs, and Michael laughs.

“How was Barbara’s?”

Gavin looks up with a grin.

“Inside she wrote ‘ _Happy Pal-entines Day’._ Because I’m her pal, apparently. What’s yours about? There a play on ‘bro’ in here somewhere?”

“Come on,” Michael scoffs. “You’re not my bro. You’re my boi!”

Gavin smiles, then thinks very hard for a moment.

“I’m trying to guess the pun, but I can’t think of one.”

“There’s no pun,” Michael assures him. “Just fucking open it, dude! I hope you like it. You know when you see something in a shop and you just immediately think of someone it suits?”

“Yep, every time I see Angry Birds I think of you!”

“I’m gonna ignore that comment,” Michael continues. “But this made me think of you.”

“I’m very curious,” Gavin says, and Michael can see his twitching smile and that flustered look he gets when talking to someone he admires - when they met Burnie, his unit coordinator, walking around uni and the man praised Gavin for some project he’d seen from one of his classes. When Steve-O replied to one of his tweets-

Or when the two of them are out together and Michael says something nice to him. He does that; it’s not all teasing.

Gavin glances up and catches him staring. His eyes crinkle into a wider smile and he finally opens the envelope and pulls out the card.

Michael waits with baited breath. Gavin’s eyes are fixed on the card and Michael shuts his own, waiting for him to read it. He himself has the fucking thing memorised at this point.

 

 

There’s a long silence in which Michael slowly dies a little more as every second passes. Then, finally, Gavin starts _giggling_.

“Are those good giggles?” Michael demands. “Or awkward ‘how do I turn you down’ giggles? It’s okay if they are.”

He opens his eyes to find Gavin’s face has gone red. He’s shaking his head in bemusement, eyes still trained on the card.

“I thought you were going to get me a friendship card,” he says. “But this isn’t, is it?”

“I mean, _friends_ don’t normally make each others’ hearts skip a beat, no,” Michael points out.

Gavin’s eyes are huge. He seems lost for words and finally just waves the card at Michael.

“Where did you _find_ this?” he demands, and Michael can only laugh.

“You know, some shop full of shitty pink love things. This one made me chuckle, though. Like I said,” he adds, “It reminded me of you.”

“It’s perfect,” Gavin says softly, reading it again. He looks up and beams. “I do love cats, and we both hate the same things! _Lots_ of things.”

“And I think you’re really good looking,” Michael adds. “And you just get me. And, if you’re agreeable, I think we’d look really good together.”

“Michael…” Gavin’s smiling so hard now that he can’t actually speak, and Michael’s nearly bursting with fondness for him.

“I mean it,” he says. “And that’s just a stupid store card, but there are so many things that I love about you. Most of all I’m so fucking happy around you, like… I know we joke about complaining about a lot of stuff, but in all honesty, since I moved to Achievement City and came to UAC I just… didn’t really have a lot going on for me. Didn’t have a lot to get excited about.”

“Yeah,” Gavin says quietly. “I kinda noticed when we first met that the Hate Game was a bit too real for you.”

Michael nods.

“But you changed all that, Gav,” he says. “And I just… I love being around you and I love _you_ and maybe it’s too fucking soon to say that, but I don’t care. It’s true. But I promise this won’t make things awkward if you don’t feel the same way-”

Gavin stops him with a gentle hand on his arm.

“I never dreamed _you_ could like me,” he says softly. “You’re so confident all the time and so funny and seriously good looking as well and… and I know we’re close but after Ed I wasn’t _sure-_ ”

“Ed’s a fucking prick and my list is better than his list,” Michael snaps, and Gavin bursts out laughing.

“Your list is a lot better than his list,” he agrees, and his smile is softer now, sweeter. “Thank you, Michael. It means a lot. And there are a long list of things that _I_ love about _you_ , but I want to write them down and put them in a card as well, so you’ll just have to wait for that to appear when you least expect it.”

“Awesome,” Michael grins wickedly, “I can’t wait to see _your_ attempt at reverse pickpocketing _me_.”

“I’m gonna do it!” Gavin cries. “Just you wait, I’ll be the sneakiest. You’ll never see me coming.”

“I’d see that nose a mile away,” Michael jokes, and reaches out and taps him on it. Gavin squawks indignantly, but breaks out laughing, and Michael does too, and abruptly Gavin surges forward and throws himself into Michael’s arms. Michael catches him, hugging him tightly, head nearly spinning with how everything’s finally come together-

And as if things aren’t moving fast enough already, Gavin pulls back and then starts to lean in and Michael’s kissing him before he even knows it. His arms are still wrapped around Gavin’s waist and after a moment Gavin’s hands come up, resting against his back, and it feels like everything finally fits together. It’s perfect.

They break apart, and Michael’s breathing heavily but he can’t stop _grinning_ , and Gavin can’t either. Stays pressed close to Michael and after a moment hugs him again, huddling into him. Michael can only let out a breathless laugh; he’s not normally a big hugger but it’s Gavin, it’s different, and finally getting to _hold_ him and feel his heart pounding against his own chest is its own kind of magic.

“So we already went on a first date this morning,” he begins, and Gavin makes a noise of protest.

“That doesn’t count,” he says. “Take me on another one.”

“Right now?”

“Yes,” Gavin says, pulling back to stare at Michael with a cheeky grin.

Michael laughs. His heart is still pounding but it’s for a good reason, now, not nerves or anything else. And maybe he’s never been all that into Valentine’s Day before, but here and now it’s the best fucking day of his life.

He has absolutely nothing to complain about.

**Author's Note:**

> IMAGE:
> 
> _(Store printed card:)_  
>  I love you because…  
> (tick) You are seriously good looking  
> (tick) We hate the same things  
> (tick) You make my heart skip a beat  
> (tick) You’re into cats (drawing labelled ‘Lloyd’)  
> You always buy the popcorn  
> (tick) We (added: would) look really good together  
> You’re a ~~coffee~~ red bull person  
>  (tick) You always say the right thing  
> (tick) You just get me
> 
>  
> 
> _(Handwritten:)_  
>  You make me find things to enjoy again - you make me happy :)


End file.
